Advice and guide on buying car seats

Seats of a car are not suitably designed for babies. Children under 12 years or upto 135cm tall need to be seated in specially designed car seats as per legal provisions. Weight and height of a child guide in determining right size of the seat. As the child grows up, model of the seat need to be changed accordingly. In an event of unfortunate accident, the car seat carrying an overweight child may fail to provide necessary protection. The seat you buy should fit well with the seat of your car. There should be enough room for making necessary adjustments. Depending on the height, weight and age of a child you may need to buy infant car seat for newborns, convertible seat and booster seat for grown ups. Infant seats : Car seats for infants are made for babies weighing upto 29lbs. Generally such seats can be used by babies aged upto 15 months. These seats are designed as rare faced seats and an infant seats facing back of the car. Such design aims to spread the crash impact on back, which is the strongest body part of an infant. The baby is secured with a three point harness and the seat is secured with the seat belt of the car. Infant car seats are portable and lightweight for helping easy transportation. Look for reclining seats like britax car seats that fully support back and head of your baby. For a child aged over 1year or weighing more than 201lbs, a front-facing car seat is recommended. Convertible seats : Convertible seats can be transformed from a rare facing to front facing seat. Such seats can be used for a newborn as well as for a child weighing upto 401lbs. The rare facing model of seat is used till the baby weighs 291lbs (15 months). Once the baby is able to sit up unaided, the seat is converted to front facing and can be used till the baby weighs 401lbs. This is a cost effective option offering more versatility. You can do with a single car seat from infancy of a child till he is about 4 years old. This type of seats offer 5 point harness for guarding the child and secures itself by the car’s seat belt. Booster seats : Booster seats are required for children upto the age of 12 years. High back booster seats are designed as front-faced versatile seats that can support a child weighing upto 801lbs. The seat and the child are secured by diagonal seat belt in the front or back seats of the car. While younger infants can use 5 point-harness, the grown ups may use the seat belt. Maclaren car seats offer adjustable height that allows a child to view through the car window. Drinks holders and mesh pockets are added features of this type of car seat. Once you have selected the desired model of car seat, install it according to instruction given by the manufacturer. Ensure that the seat belt is properly tightened and buckle of the belt is not bent around frame of the seat. Check underneath of the seat while installing and make sure that the space is free from undesired objects that may disturb the balance.